- Sedalia School District 200
- Welcome
'Don't have to share blood to be family'
S-C senior Chelsea Lewton’s life changed forever when her parents decided to foster children.
Lewton’s parents, Crystal and Greg Hansen, got their foster license four years ago, because they wanted to help children who needed them. Crystal and Greg have had a sibling group of two children for two years and a sibling group of five for over a year. They are taking steps to adopt all 7 of the children. The youngest child they’ve fostered has been a newborn and the oldest has been 17 years old.
“We’ve been so blessed to be able to take care and love all these children and give them a safe home,” said Crystal.
In order to become a foster parent in Missouri, you have to be at least 21 years, be in good physical and mental health, complete a child abuse and neglect check and criminal record check including fingerprints, and be willing to partner with the child’s family. All licensed foster parents have to complete 27 hours of training. After that they will have to maintain their license by continuing to get 30 hours of training every two years.
Lewton can’t pick a favorite part about being a foster sister.
“I love each and every part of it. I’m truly blessed to be able to be in their lives,” she said. She has learned to always stay open minded and understanding with people, because she never knows what’s going on in someone’s home life.
“I’ve learned that you don’t have to share blood to be family,” Lewton said.
She spends all her free time with them. She goes to the movies and races with them and takes them to the park. They spend a lot of time together, bonding and learning more about each other. Lewton believes her parent’s decision was the best thing in the world and it has made her so happy. She plans to become a foster parent once she turns 21 years old.
S-C’s social worker, Renae Belt, and her husband became foster parents in 2005. They fell into fostering when they tried to help a family member. Although, the family member ended up not needing them, they liked the training so much they decided to give it a try. Belt said they were pretty good at it and loving the children, so they kept it up. She and her husband have fostered 18 children overall and have adopted three children. Michael is 10 and they adopted him when they lived in Pennsylvania. He was an infant when he came to them, they weren’t able to officially adopt him for three years.
“It was tough,” Belt said. They adopted Amyjah at age 11 and Jaron at age 8 here in Missouri. They’re now 13 and 9 years old.
Belt said fostering is hard work, but rewarding. There’s a lot of meetings, appointments and court hearings that you have to attend. She said the children have been through so much trauma that sometimes they’re difficult. The biological families are difficult sometimes as well and can make things uncomfortable.
“Having said that, when you all are trying to do what is best for the child,” she said, “it can be so rewarding to see a family united and doing well.”